A Trip to the Alpine..Stitch Tutorial

The Alpine stitch

The alpine stitch, or the raised ripple stitch, is a beautiful, elegant, and easy stitch with a raised texture. It is wonderful for scarves, blankets, jackets, purses and so much more!

I found this stitch rather recently when I was planning out a Christmas gift. the recipient loved Celtic looking items, but I didn’t want to do a Celtic weave because I only had two skeins of the teal color that they liked so much. The Alpine stitch takes a lot of yarn. However this stitch is definitely worth it with 3 dimensional texture.

To do this stitch you need to know how to chain, single crochet, double crochet, and what a front post stitch is. (I’ll explain what a front post stitch is, if you don’t)

The Key
  • Ch = chain
  • St = Stitch
  • ALT = Alternate Option
  • Sc = single crochet
  • Dc = double crochet
  • FPDC = front post double crochet

The color changes are to show the layers.

How to do the Alpine stitch

Start with an odd number of chain stitches, and a size 6.0 mm hook, but you can use just about any size depending on your project and yarn type. You can also start with a foundation stitch, which I did, I think it gives a nice bordered end.

Row 1: Foundation St 11, turn. (ALT) Ch 11, Ch 1 and Sc 11 St.

Row 2: Ch 2, then Dc in each Sc. 11 St.

Row 3: Ch 2, Sc in each Dc.

Start of FPDC row 4

End of 1 FPDC

Row 4: Ch 2 this counts as the first Dc, do a FPDC in the second Dc, then a regular Dc next Sc. continue until you reach the end, it should be a normal Dc.

Row 5: Ch 1, Sc in the top of each Dc.

Second row of FPDC



Second row of FPDC continued

Row 6: Ch 2, do 1 Dc above the previous FPDC, do 1 FPDC in the next Dc. Continue this pattern until you’ve reached the end you should have 2 Dcs on either side.

Row 7: continue rows 4 -6 to your desired length.

Finished swatch.

Row 8: Finish the pattern with 2 rows of Sc so it matches the bottom.

The picture below is of the scarf I made with this stitch. It has an elegant woven look that also keeps you nice and warm. I hope you enjoy making this stitch. I can see using it to make a potholder, or trivet, as a great starting project! Cut your teeth on it so to speak.

My first big project using the alpine stitch, a scarf